- 01Jun
(Reuters) - Bubble Wrap maker Sealed Air Corp (SEE.N) said it will buy privately held cleaning products maker Diversey Holdings for $2.9 billion in cash and stock, to enter the $40 billion-plus chemical cleaning and hygiene industry.
The deal will help Sealed Air grow beyond specialty packaging and give it access to Diversey's markets in over 60 countries in Europe, Asia Pacific,Brazil, Africa and other high-growth developing regions.Diversey, which makes commercial cleaning, hygiene, pest control and food sanitation products, had revenue of $3.1 billion last year.
The deal comes just weeks after Silgan Holdings Inc (SLGN.O), which makes cans for Campbell's Soup, bought smaller rival Graham Packaging (GRM.N) for $1.3 billion.
The Racine, Wisconsin-based Johnson family -- which has stakes in home cleaning products such as Mr. Muscle and Baygon -- owns about half of Diversey, with private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice Inc holding 46 percent. Unilever (ULVR.L) owns 4 percent.
DEAL DETAILS
Diversey shareholders will receive $2.1 billion in cash and 31.7 million Sealed Air common shares, and will own 15 percent of Sealed Air shares once the deal is completed.
Diversey, which competes with Ecolab Inc (ECL.N), 3M (MMM.N) and Procter & Gamble (PG.N), had total debt of $1.53 billion as of April 1, according to a company filing.
The deal, expected to close this year, should add to earnings in the first full year following completion, Sealed Air said.
Sealed Air, which competes with Sonoco Products Co (SON.N) and Bemis Co (BMS.N), had revenue of $4.5 billion in 2010. It had $696 million in cash and cash equivalents and debt of $1.41 billion, as of end-March.
Citi and Blackstone Advisory Partners acted as financial advisers to Sealed Air. Lazard acted as advisor to the Johnson family.
Shares of Sealed Air, valued at $4.06 billion, have risen less than 1 percent so far this year, but hit a 43-month high in February. The sector sub-index .15GSPMA is up 4.5 percent year-to-date.
The stock was up 5 percent at $27.05 before the bell on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Divya Sharma in Bangalore, additional reporting by A. Ananthalakshmi; Editing by Roshni Menon)
The Carver news team is determined to keep you up to date with the latest business news from all around
the world. Carver PA Corporation is a multi-disciplinary company which provides a number of Industrial
Training programs, Consulting Services and Recruitment Services on a global scale.
